Gentlemen'S Dress Accessories (Shire Library 205)

Description: In the mid-nineteenth century, men wished to balance the sobriety of their clothing: if fashion dictated drab coloring, they could add ornament. Hence gentlemen came to display a selection of male jewellery, including the watch chain or 'albert' with its attachments - watch-keys, seals, fobs, compasses, pencils, vestas and the like. Studs, cravat pins, flower holders, cuff-links and special dress buttons for waistcoats were also widely used. Many of the items described and illustrated here are highly collectible and can still be worn today, often providing a stimulating conversion point.

Contents: Introduction /Watch chains and attachments /Fasteners, buttons and studs /The dressing room and personal accessories /Conclusion /Further reading /Places to visit

Author Biography: Eve Eckstein has been collecting hat pins for over twenty years and gathering knowledge of hat pins and their place in social history. June and Gerald Firkins deal in many of the items described in 'Gentlemen's Dress Accessories', and have been actively engaged in the antiques trade since the 1970s. They have given lectures and demonstrations on various aspects of social history.